


a new reign

by audrey



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Arthur Knows About Merlin's Magic (Merlin), BAMF Merlin (Merlin), Crack, Dragonlord Merlin (Merlin), Dragons, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Good Morgana (Merlin), Immortal Merlin (Merlin), Immortality, King Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), King Merlin (Merlin), M/M, Merlin Needs a Hug (Merlin), Minor Character Death, Mutual Pining, POV Alternating, Prince Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Time Travel, also morgana and arthur are wlw mlm solidarity siblings, arthur writes letters to merlin bc he is a lovesick fool, dumbass arthur, gwaine and will are like best friends, look yes i took a year to post chapter two but that wont happen again i promise, merlin is only slightly sane, morgana is such a gem i love her, no beta we die like men, uther is a poo head
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-07
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-01-04 09:00:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 17,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21195053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/audrey/pseuds/audrey
Summary: it has been over 1500 years, 1500 years! merlin has waited for 1500 years! he is fed up and then he gets an idea. he is magic itself, he doesn't see why it wouldn't work, it does work just a few hiccups that's allORmerlin is fed up waiting for arthur to come back so he goes back in time to his time in Camelot and the old religion didn't like that so they made him pay the small price of visiting the fisher king and waiting for a little longer.THIS WORK IS INSPIRED BY 'this time around part 1' by lkdaswani AND I GOT SOME OF MY IDEAS FROM THAT FIC BUT IT'S NOT THE SAME AND CREDS TO THE AUTHOR :)





	1. the return

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [This Time Around. Part 1.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15899046) by [Oneiric (lkdaswani)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lkdaswani/pseuds/Oneiric). 

Merlin has decided that he doesn’t care anymore. He has waited for Arthur to come back from the dead for 1500 years. Fifteen hundred years! That’s a long fucking time! And now the earth is dying, he can feel it, and Arthur still hasn’t come back. Kilgharrah was a fucking liar, not that Merlin ever thought any different, stupid fucking dragon. Merlin has seen a lot and done a lot. Every year on Arthur’s death day, no matter where in the world he is, Merlin goes to lake Avalon, or what’s left of it and just sits there, sometimes as an old man, sometimes as his young self, sometimes invisible. He has come to learn that his magic doesn’t have any limitations, I mean sure he gets drained and sometimes can’t move for a couple of hours after doing an intense spell but, there aren’t many things that he cannot do. For example, he can’t bring Arthur back, no matter how much he tried.

Merlin has had many jobs, sometimes he just finds a cave and fucks off from the rest of the world for a bit, sometimes he is a doctor or an English professor or a human rights activist, sometimes he travels the world, he knows every language, he has lived in every culture, he has seen and done everything one can do. One time in 2010 he tried to take a history university course (because he knew everything and would make a fine history major) but when he was given the textbook, he got really mad about all the mistakes and rewrote the whole textbook, gave it to his professor and dropped out of the course. Right now, he is working at a volunteer place that helps raise awareness of how the world is dying. They think he is a 20 something part-time law student trying to get money to survive. He is 1530 something trillionaire who was bored and thought that the love of his life might work at a place like this. They are in the middle of an employee meeting when Merlin has his breakdown.

“This is fucking useless!” he groans out. The people around him look at him confused.

“I mean, the strategy might not be the best, but we are working our best to improve it.”

“What? No, not that. This,” Merlin waves his hands in the general direction of everywhere. “I have been waiting for over a thousand years! And the earth is dying! ‘_He will rise when Albion needs him the most’_, I call bullshit! Albion is long gone, but I am still here! I wish I could back in time and- wait that’s a perfect idea! Go back to before I came to Camelot and kidnap Arthur and keep him to myself until Uther dies and then we can rule Albion together!”

“Merlin, are you high? Remember we said you can’t come to work high after last time.” (every fifty years or so Merlin has a two-day breakdown then goes on a bender, it just happened the drugs lasted longer than intended)

“That was one time, _Janice!_ No, I am not high to answer your question, but consider this my resignation, I am going home!” Merlin was ecstatic, he doesn’t know why he didn’t think of this before! It is the perfect plan! Okay, so maybe he won’t kidnap Arthur, but he would go back and fix his mistakes, help Morgana, help those who were lost and corrupted by the power of magic. Merlin is magic itself, and he knows better than anyone that magic is not evil.

“Do you want someone to walk you home?”

“You can’t walk back in time Janice!”

“Okay…”

Merlin leaves the compound and sprints to his flat. Ahh, his flat, he cast an extension charm, so it now has a basement that has everything he collected over the years, including three dragon eggs, various small objects from his time in Camelot, an artefact from every culture he visited, and of course his 1750 journals. Merlin has documented every single thing that has happened to him in the past 1500 years, as well as all his emotions and thoughts and achievements. He decides to bring the dragon eggs, his top ten favourite artefacts and his top ten best years written down, as well as his top ten worst years because you can’t have the good without the bad.

Merlin honestly has no idea what he is doing, he doesn’t know if this will work and he doesn’t know what will happen when he gets back to Camelot. He took a deep breath and conjured every ounce of magic within him.

“Me párte píso se mia epochí ópou tha boroúsa na do tous progónous mou kai tous agapiménous mou. párte píso sto chróno mou.” Merlin felt his magic bubble and boil all around him, and he feels that it is working, he knows that this is it, he will finally see Arthur again._ < translation: take me back to a time where I could see my ancestors and loved ones. take me back to my time >_

All Merlin sees is black.

“Emrys,” A voice in the dark hisses. “What you are trying to achieve has never been done before and is breaking the laws of everything you have learnt over time, but alas somehow it has worked and here you are back in Camelot, back in Arthurs time, back in your mother and fathers time. For that I applaud you.”

“What’s the chase? What consequences do I have to face to see Arthur again, it can’t be this simple?” Merlin asked the black-void of nothingness.

“Ahh Emrys, you have learned so much in your time away, you are aware that everything comes with a price, a price you have to be willing to pay.”

“That price being?”

“You have landed in time two years before your initial date, two years that you have to fill with anything but seeing Arthur, you can only meet the Once and Future King in two years from this date when you initially met Arthur in your timeline. If you are to meet Arthur before this time, you both will face dire consequences.”

“What am I supposed to do until then? What happens to the me that was living in Ealdor? Where does my mother think I am? How is this supposed to work?”

“The Fisher King will help you.”

“What on the bloody earth does the Fisher King have to do with this?!”

“Goodbye Emrys.”

“What the fuck-,”

____

Merlin wakes up in the dirt, looking around he deducts that he is in the forest of Ascetir, less than a days’ walk back to Ealdor, a six to seven-day trek to the Fisher King’s kingdom and a two day walk to Camelot, to Arthur. Merlin decides to go back to Ealdor, knowing to not go against the Old Religion and stay clear of Arthur for another two years, no matter how much he wants to go to Camelot, he has already waited for 1500 what’s another two?

He reaches Ealdor just as the sun begins to set on the horizon. His mother is coincidently out the front of their house, hanging clothes on the line of string.

When his mother recognises Merlin is standing there, she is surprised to see her son. “Merlin?! What are you doing back so soon? You only left yesterday, you wouldn’t have reached Camelot yet, has something happened?”

“It’s a very, very long story. I think it best if we go inside.” Merlin offered a hand to his mother, feeling a bit faint.

“Merlin, why do you look so much older? What could have possibly happened in the day and a half you have been gone that you look five years older?” Hunith wouldn’t budge, this man may look like her son, but this man couldn’t possibly be her Merlin. (but he is of course)

“Mother, I said it was a long story, please just trust me,” Merlin is about to continue his sentence, but he faints. Merlin knew this would happen and is honestly surprised it hadn’t happened while walking to Ealdor, he was beyond exhaustion at that point. Casting magic that has never been achieved before is extremely draining and well exhausting. Hunith jumps back in surprise and against her previous thoughts, she rushes to help him.

Merlin is out for two days.

“Arthur!” is how he wakes up, the way he wakes up more days than not. He is breathless and uncomfortably sweaty.

“Merlin? Are you awake?” Hunith asks walking into view of Merlin.

“How long was I out?” Merlin asks sitting up straight away. His focus now solely set on his mother.

“Merlin! Sit your behind down right now! You need to rest, you have been out cold for two days straight. You owe me answers young man! I am your mother and you cannot stress me out like that!”

Merlin is surprised it has only been two days, he was expecting at least a week he said as much.

“O-only two days._ Only two days?! _Merlin you better give me answers right this second or so help me god I will,”

Merlin could cry, he missed his mother so much. “Oh mum, I don’t know how I survived so long without you.”

Hunith raised an eyebrow at him, “Merlin, you weren’t even gone for 48 hours, you have gone camping with Will for longer than that.”

“Will, oh.” Merlin went quiet, he missed his childhood best friend over the years of course, but he still feels guilty for how Will sacrificed himself.

“Yes Merlin, Will, your best friend since forever! Merlin give me answers now and do not sugar coat it!” well fuck Hunith is mad and that is rare but when it happens Merlin knows better than to against what she says.

“Ok, I will start from the start then. One thousand, five hundred and eleven years ago I stepped out of those doors at the ripe age of twenty and began my journey to Camelot. And by the end of the week I somehow ended up the manservant of prince prat, talking with a dragon about destiny,” Merlin told her everything, leaving out bits and pieces, such as the year he spent finding a different way to kill himself every week to see if he was actually immortal or if he had a certain amount of lives (he is immortal) (he is also hasn’t been mentally stable for over a thousand years) or the major world wars and advancements in technology.

“Then it dawned on me that ‘hey Merlin, you’re the most powerful thing on earth I don’t see why you couldn’t just jump back to the past and see the people you love again.’ So, I used as much magic I possibly could and here I am. But when I got here there, of course, was consequences, so now I have to wait two years before I am allowed to see Arthur again or even go to Camelot. The magic of the old religion told me that I need to see the Fisher King for answers I think, so before I left, I wanted to see at least you again.” Merlin finished.

Hunith was in tears again, Merlin, of course, didn’t blame his mother, tears are something that the warlock is not foreign to. “Oh, my dear boy, I almost don’t want to let you out of my site. What would happen if you returned to Camelot?”

“I get sent back to my time, Arthur dies in front of me again, Arthur doesn’t trust me or want to talk to me, I have a lot of theories. But right now, I want to ask a favour of you.”

“Anything Merlin, you know I would do absolutely anything for you.”

MEANWHILE IN CAMELOT

The prince groans and grudgingly opens his eyes only to see the court physician hunched over some vials. “Gaius? What happened to me?”

“You have been out cold for four days, sire. Your father was beginning to suspect sorcery.”

“My what?” had Gaius finally gone mad? Arthurs father died years ago. _Good riddance, if he knew I was in love with a sorcerer he would kill us both. _Arthur thinks back to a few months prior when he and Merlin went ghost hunting for his own father and his father was against almost everything he had achieved since he became King, but Merlin was there to tell him that his father was wrong, and Arthur was the greatest king Albion has ever seen.

“Your father the king, sire.”

“Gaius that is ridiculous, my father dies years ago, and where is Merlin? I am surprised he left me alone after what happened at Avalon.” How Arthur managed to fall in love with such a dollop headed moron he didn’t know.

“Merlin, sire?” the court physician raised his eyebrow at the young prince.

“Yes Gaius, Merlin, my idiot manservant, the one that has lived with you for the past eleven odd years, do keep up.” _the one that I am hopelessly in love with._

Gaius looks more confused as ever, checking the prince’s temperature again.

“Arthur, how old are you?”

“Gaius! You cannot just ask your king that sort of questions! Especially when you were present for my birth! but, if you must know, I am thirty-one and I need to know where Merlin is so he can explain to me what happened at the lake of Avalon after I passed out, I was sure that I was bound for death.”

“Gaius has Arthur waken up yet?” the unforgettable sickly-sweet voice of Morgana enters Arthurs chambers.

“What on earth is she doing here?! I thought Merlin killed you!” Arthur screeched.

“That is no way to speak to a Lady or the Kings Ward.” Morgana retorted, holding herself high.

“You are not my ward! What are you on about you witch?!”

“And you aren’t king! And again, you cannot talk to me like that!” Morgana shoots back. Arthur notices that Morgana looks as if she was in her teens again before she betrayed Camelot before she betrayed Arthur.

“Where is Merlin for god’s sake?! This has to somehow be his doing, that or Gwaine’s, is that you Gwaine? Did Merlin magic you into Morgana to play a trick on me? So funny guys, come out, come out Merlin, the game is done you got me good.”

“Magic? Merlin? Gwaine? Gaius what’s wrong with him?!” Morgana asks, appalled by the way the prince is treating her.

“I am not too sure, I think it best that we do not inform the king that his son has woken up just yet, just until we figure out what’s wrong with him. He seems to believe he is thirteen years older than he is and the King.” Gaius whispers in the Lady Morganas ear so that the Prince cannot overhear.

Morgana looks solemnly at the old physician but nods her head and exits the room, right as Hunith barges in.

“Oh! Gaius thank god you are here, I really must talk to you,” Hunith manages to splutter out through her breathless wheezes.

“Hunith! Finally, someone who cannot pretend that Merlin doesn’t exist, where is your son?” Arthur exclaims.

“You were talking about Merlin, Hunith’s boy?”

“Yes, Gaius, who else would I be talking about?”

Hunith looks as if she has seen a ghost. “How do you know Merlin? You haven’t supposed to have met yet.”

“I met Merlin eleven years ago, what is everyone on about!”

Hunith pales further. “Arthur, what was the last thing you remember? This is very important, so you need to answer me to the best you can, okay?”

“Hunith what?” Gaius questions, his confusing growing by the second.

“Gaius I just need to ask Arthur this and then I need to talk to you about something important.” Gaius nodded at his old friend in return.

“Well, I was fighting in battle and Mordred stabbed me and a piece of his sword was caught inside me, I killed him then I passed out, when I awoke I was in the woods far away from where the battle was taken place and Merlin told me he had magic and that the sword Mordred used was forged in the breath of a dragon and I was bound to die if he didn’t get me to lake Avalon before the sword piece reached my heart, I didn’t want to at first because I had been friends with Merlin for over ten years and he never trusted me enough to tell me that he had magic. Then Gaius told me that he was the most powerful sorcerer to ever walk the earth and it was his destiny to serve and protect me and that we were two sides of the same coin or whatever. Then he and I travelled for what felt like years before reaching the lake almost before Morgana came and tried to antagonise me, but Merlin killed her and the next bits are a bit fuzzy, but I remember telling him to hold me and I remember thanking him and telling him that I loved him, then I woke up here.”

“I am not entirely sure how to say this but, Arthur, you died that day and because Merlin is immortal he has been alive for over 1500 years before he realised that there is a slight possibility that he could time travel back to a time where you were alive but there seems to be more than a few flaws in his plan. So, Arthur, you are in your eighteen-year-old-selves body and nothing bad has happened yet, Morgana hasn’t turned to the bad side, your father is still healthy, no one has betrayed you or gone after you, and that’s how you need to remember it as, you are not Arthur, King of Camelot, you are crown Prince Arthur of Camelot, you aren’t married to Guinevere, you don’t have the knights of the round table by your side and you haven’t met Merlin.” Hunith comforts Arthur, only ignoring Gaius’ presence slightly.

Arthur’s face drops, Merlin was alone for so long, and now Arthur has to readjust his life back into what he was before Merlin, back when he was a selfish prat. “Why isn’t he here? Where is he? He went so long, so alone…”

“I am afraid Merlin is not allowed to step foot inside of Camelot, see you in person outside of Camelot or even have any form of communication with you or bad things will happen to the both of you. That ban is lifted on the day you originally met when from then on you can have him as your manservant or just as a friend, but in the end, he will always still be there for you Arthur.”

“How is that fair on Merlin? He waited over a thousand years for me and he risks his life do something that has never been done before and can’t even see me. That is not fair, and I only have to wait two full years to see him again. What is he to do until then? What am I to do?”

“I am sorry Arthur, there isn’t anything I can do. And from everything that Merlin has told me about you, I believe it unwise to tell you Merlin’s plans in fear that you will go after him and that would be bad for the both of you, but if it makes you feel any better he cannot die, he is immortal and even if he is burned, stabbed and left to bleed out, or poisoned he will just simply come back to life, he has unbelievable control over his magic and will be fine by himself.”

“At least he can’t get himself killed I suppose, doesn’t make me feel any better about the fact that he was alone for so long and I can’t be there for him now.” Arthur frowns and turns over in his bed. “If it’s okay with you two I would like to have some time with myself, to think things over.”

“Of course, Sire.” Gaius leads Hunith out the prince’s chambers and down towards his chambers.

“So, your son is the most powerful warlock to ever walk the earth, he served as manservant for eleven years in a place where magic is illegal, managed to get the king to fall in love with him only for said king to die in his arms, then walk the earth for over one thousand five hundred years only to travel back up in time and somehow summon the king from his times memories into the prince of our present times body. How are you feeling Hunith?”

“Oh, Gods Gaius, my poor boy was all alone for so long and he loves Arthur so much, he loved Camelot so much but after Arthur’s death, he could barely bring himself to go back. The way he retold his past was so emotional. I worry for him Gaius, being that alone for so long has to be damaging to a man.” Hunith let out a much-needed sigh and flopped down on the nearest chair. “You know how I got here? He teleported me! Just a flick of his wrist and I am in an alleyway outside of Camelot’s citadel. When he first came into my yard, I was certain it was an imposter, how could my boy look so much older, how could this man be my son? I asked myself, he doesn’t have the glint of happiness in his eyes no more and it hurts as his mother to see that he doesn’t have that happiness I am so used to seeing in him. Gaius, I don’t know what to do, he was told to go the Fisher King and that journey should answer his questions, and I can’t help but worry for him.”

“You are welcome to stay here as long as you need, I am sure that Merlin will find ways of contacting you if he needs you.” Gaius offered his old friend, seeing how distressed she was. “As I was expecting Merlin to join me, I made up a bed for him which I am sure will suffice for the time being.”

“Thank you, Gaius, that reminds me, Merlin asked me to give this to you.” Hunith digs into her pocket and pulls out a letter address to Gaius.

The letter reads;

_ **Dear Gaius,** _

_ **Reding this you probably don’t know me too well, but as I am sure my mother has explained I know you very well. During my time in Camelot, you were a father figure to me, and I looked up to you in many aspects. You helped me through a lot of very sticky situations, but inevitably I had my many mistakes, mistakes that I hope to not make again this time around. My biggest regret and mistake was Morgana. Morgana is powerful, she is also stubborn and strong-willed, she was trapped within herself for so long and ridiculed for something she couldn’t control. I am not sure when her ‘nightmares’ start but they aren’t nightmares, but visions of what’s to come. Once her visions start, I want to be there to help her and show her that magic is not a bad thing, I want to teach her how to control it and I want you to help me, help her. I understand that this would be treason but Gaius, if we don’t help her, Camelot will fall, and I have to be the one to end the fall and hurt her, and I don’t want to do that again. Once she starts to develop signs of magic please Gaius send me word so I can help her, Morgana was my friend and if I wasn’t so selfish, I could have saved so many people from so much pain. Gaius, you were such an important role in my past life and when you passed it felt like a piece of me was torn away, so please do this for me so I can fix my mistakes and we can be acquainted once again. Once I figure out what it is, I have to do for the next two years, I will get in contact with you, I always need your help.** _

_ **Merlin. ** _

_ _

“He is still the same Merlin, even after all the pain he faced.” Hunith comments. “Thank you again, Gaius, for letting me stay here, I won’t be here long, but I am grateful that you are allowing me to stay with you.”

IN THE PERILOUS LANDS

Merlin approached the Fisher Kings castle or the dark tower as many locals call it, the multiple “traps” set to avoid visitors were surprisingly simple to get past, but then again Merlin has enough practice of this. The first time Merlin came here, Balinor had already passed, so Merlin wasn’t hundred per cent sure if controlling the wyverns would work, but then again, he is the most powerful being to ever exist.

*Merlin POV*

When I approach the bridge Grettir is there to greet me. “The great Emrys has returned to our lands, what brought you here is thrilled that you have finally arrived.”

“Returned?” as far as I was concerned at this point only his mother and hopefully Gaius knew that he has lived this life before.

“The Fisher King sensed your magic returning great warlock, as I am sure most powerful magical beings did, although not most would’ve known what it meant or understood the importance of your return, the magic you used is not well known, well not known at all really, but alas my master heard the voices of the old religion praise you of your success, it is he who told them to bring you to him,” Grettir explained before stepping to the side so I can pass. “He is waiting for you.”

“Thank you, Grettir,” I say before continuing the journey to the Dark Tower.

One thing I was worried about was the wyverns, I probably should have asked Grettir about them, but it’s too late now, even if I can’t control them, I can’t die so it won’t matter in the end. _Probably shouldn’t mention that to mum later. _I only told her the basics after Arthur died because those 1500 years were not the greatest.

As I approach the courtyard, I am surprised to find that no wyverns are waiting for me, I suppose there are another four years or so for them to come. The tower is almost exactly as I remember it to be, it has a little less dust and spider webs, but those came with time.

“Emrys.” The fisher king says as I enter the throne room, he looks the same, covered in cobwebs, bags bigger than my will to live, and his eyes look so tired.

“Fisher King,” I bow. “It is a pleasure that I get to meet you once again.”

“Ahh but the pleasure is all mine, great Emrys. Never in my years of existence did I think I would come across a soul older than my own, but here you are, how long have you lived again?” the old king said to the even older warlock.

I chuckle lightly “One thousand, five hundred and thirty-something. Although I might be off by a few years, time slips through your fingers when you’re immortal.” The fisher king smiles lightly at me. “If you don’t mind me asking, what am I doing here? Grettir said you felt my magic return, does that mean that others did as well?”

“Emrys, I brought you here because I wish to ask you a question, but to answers yours, yes I believe that many felt your power return to the lands, it is unlikely many truly understood what you achieved, the High Priestess’ would vaguely understand and the druids would recognise your power anywhere, I trust that you are in no danger from your past life’s enemies, if that is what you fear. Then again you cannot die, so you wouldn’t be in fear of that. Maybe you fear for your king?”

I advert my eyes away from him, of course, I fear for Arthur. Arthur is all I have ever feared about, even after he died.

“Ahh, so it is your king that you fear for, do not worry Emrys. No harm shall come to the once and future king while you are away, just as no harm came to him before you first arrived in Camelot. Now for my question to you. You have two years until you are allowed to go back to Camelot, I would like you to have my kingdom, my castle and my crown. My magic is keeping me alive, but you are immortal, the perfect king, one that cannot die. My magic keeps me breathing but not alive, I cannot be king if I can scarcely gather enough strength to rise from my throne. I would like you to rise my kingdom from the ground and invite every living magic creature, user, or anyone or thing that possesses the great gift of magic. You Emrys, are magic itself and I want you to take over my kingdom, reform it to its former glory, I want you to be king of Elmet, or if you wish you can change its name, you may. I am leaving my kingdom with you. You have more experience than anyone and when you returned it reminded me of how I used to be, I don’t want my kingdom for to fall after my death, and I cannot think anyone better than you Emrys.”

MEANWHILE IN CAMELOT

“Hunith!” the prince called running out of castle grounds, towards the mother of the most powerful sorcerer to ever walk the lands.

“Oh, Prince Arthur! I was going to come up and say goodbye, but I was unsure if you were feeling alright and didn’t want to intrude.” The future queen mother speaks graciously and with sophistication and will be an excellent member to the royal family of Teyrnas Hud – which is what Merlin is going to call his kingdom because its Welsh for the Magic Kingdom or the Kingdom of Magic and he loved Wales and the Welsh language.

“It is fine Hunith, I was just wondering if you because Merlin can’t, will return to Camelot as frequently as possible for your timetable. Just once every month, or even two months. It’s just that you are the closest thing to Merlin I can get and because Gaius doesn’t know him anymore besides from what you have told him, it would be nice to talk about him to someone, and perhaps I could tell you things from my point of view. Also, you could update me on how Merlin is going and if he is safe or happy, without of course giving away his location. And I guess you could have someone to talk to that might understand more, Gaius is great but we both just found out something big and life-changing, and it might be good to have a confidant who completely understands. I will respect your wishes if you are to stay in Ealdor, and I hope that the answer is not swayed by my title.” If someone were to pass and overhear the conversation, they would believe that this was not the prince, or if it was, he was enchanted, Arthur was not being arrogant or prattish like he was before Merlin came to Camelot, he was being kind and putting Hunith’s needs first.

“Of course, Sire, I will be honoured to make the trip to have a little chat with you, it can help us both I believe. I will see you in two months time.” Hunith curtsied and Arthur smiled as they both parted ways.

BACK TO THE FISHER KING

“Emrys? Will you take my offer?”

“I am no King, that is Arthur.” Merlin was wary, he loved magic and wanted to keep people safe from Uther’s reign, but he was no king.

“The Once and Future King is the king of Albion, I am asking you to be king of magic. You would be a fair and just king, you will do what is right for the magic community, Emrys I am asking this of you because I believe in you. Be the king and keep the magic in Albion safe and alive.”

“Okay. I will do that, I can keep them safe, safe from Uther, safe from Cenred, safe from believing that magic corrupts.”

“I knew you would choose the right choice Emrys.” The fisher king smiled and slowly stood up. “I, the infamous Fisher King, centuries-old sorcerer and king, hand over land, my crown and my kingdom over to Merlin Emrys, immortal warlock, magic itself the protector of the lands. Do you accept the responsibility of looking after all those who wish to stay here, protect the lands and uphold your loyalty to the crown, to do everything in your power to keep the citizens from getting hurt or put into mortal danger?”

Merlin took I deep breath in. “I do.” The Fisher King removes the crown from his head and gently places it on Merlins.

A whirl of magic and dust sweeps around the two men, Merlin feels as the Fisher King’s magic is transferred to him, he feels like the land shifts to his control. The Fisher Kings is once again taken by a cyclone of magic and dust, as he leaves, he whispers a thank you to Merlin, then Merlin is left alone in the throne room, the new power heavily present in his mind as he walked to the web covered window and let his magic take control over the land, cleaning all the dust, cobwebs, and fallen buildings, he let his magic build a kingdom and let the Perilous Lands flourish into his new Kingdom; Teyrnas Hud.


	2. year one.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the first year the boys spend apart...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM SO FUCKING SORRY IT TOOK ME A YEAR TO UPLOAD SO MUCH SHIT HAPPENED AND I HAD THE WORST WRITERS BLOCK EVER,, THANK YOU SO MUCH TO LITERALLY ALL OF YOU FOR COMING BACK AND STAYING I LOVE YALL <3333

It took a whole week for Merlin’s magic to complete the task of reviving the lands to their former glory, with added taste from Merlin’s personal favourite architectural aspects and another day of rest before he was ready to invite those who possess magic into his Kingdom.

“Hello, do not be afraid, my name is Emrys.” Merlin really didn’t have a clue where he was going with this. “I have recently come back to Albion, where was I before? The future. All the prophecies and legends are true, I am the embodiment of magic and the most powerful warlock in the lands, not to mention I am immortal. I have lived one thousand, five hundred and thirty years of life, I have lived this life before and now I am back to fix my mistakes, in my previous life I was too preoccupied with protecting those who I loved that I didn’t realise that I should’ve been protecting everyone like me, everyone who had the wonderous gift of magic, so that is what I am here to do. Come to the Perilous Lands, to find them Perilous no more, the Fisher King gave his kingdom to me and I intend to make the land a place where all people of magic who can live and thrive without the overwhelming fear of those abusing you and your power. Come and see for yourself, and if you wish to stay there will always be a place for you and if you wish to stay in your own homes you may, I am not forcing you to do anything. This is an opportunity I am giving the beings of magic to live freely without fear. Teyrnas Hud is the name I have chosen for my kingdom, which roughly translates to Kingdom of Magic or Magic Kingdom” Merlin sent the telepathic message to as many magical being as he could, from Druids, like Iseldir, to unicorns and other magical animals, to people in hiding harbouring their power in secret like Gili. He tried his hardest to block out Morgause and Nimeuh because they are both lost causes as far as he is concerned, they both hurt people he loves and that can’t be forgiven. Merlin is aware that a lot of magical people hurt Arthur, but Nimeuh caused him years of emotional pain by killing the queen, plus Nimeuh tried to kill his mother _and _Gaius, which is pretty unforgivable, and Morgause corrupted Morgana and turned her to a life of hatred and anger. The old religion may have been powerful, but it shouldn’t be practised any longer. After Merlin is sure the message has reached all he can muster, he collapses into a deep sleep.

***

Meanwhile, in Camelot, Arthur is adjusting to his old life of being the prince, it is strange, to say the least, seeing his father again, seeing Morgana happy and not terrorising people, seeing Guinevere again but not his Guinevere. Having a servant who isn’t Merlin, whose name he doesn’t remember because before Merlin he never had a servant for longer than a month. Not having Gwaine’s stupid jokes or Percival’s muscle and even though Lancelot and Elyan had passed before Arthur, he never got used to not having them around. The Leon here is still trying to prove himself a worthy knight, not quite Arthur’s right hand yet. Arthur never quite realised how much Merlin changed him, Gaius helps a bit, reminds him that this Arthur is a huge prat and - dear god Merlin was right Arthur is a clotpole. Of course, Gaius doesn’t insult him just gently reminds the prince that he would usually refrain from using manners with the servants and often go harder on them. Arthur has to keep reminding himself of life before Merlin, and he never realised how much he hated life before him. Before Merlin, everyone would do exactly as he said and never the second judge his opinion, never insult him, always too afraid to be friends with him, but after Merlin came along, all of that changed and he was allowed to be himself around him without getting judged, Merlin questioned almost all his decisions and insulted Arthur and never seemed to do what he was told. _Probably because he was too busy trying to solve whatever mess the day brought. _Arthur misses Merlin more and more every day and he is not quite sure how he is going to last two years without him, he just needs to remind himself that Merlin waited one thousand, five hundred years for Arthur and Arthur only has to wait for two.

***

After a month of running his kingdom, Merlin decides to call his mother, Will and Balinor. He didn’t call on Balinor the first because the first time he was reluctant to come out of his cave and the only reason he did was that Arthur was injured. Merlin assumes that his mother told Will about the whole immortal time travelling thing, so he just tells them to come to the Perilous Lands, whereas with Balinor he can’t exactly just say “hey bro I am your all-powerful son and you actually died in my arms less than forty-eight hours after I met you the first time around, oh shit forgot to mention that I actually have lived this time once before and just yeeted myself back in time and whatnot, but I would really appreciate it if you came to the kingdom I run! It’s for magic people and because we are the last dragon lords, it would be pretty dope if you lived here with me.” Yeah, no Merlin could not say that, so he thought through what he would say carefully.

“Sire, another Druid camp has arrived.” Grettir appears in Merlin’s chambers.

“Thank you, Grettir. I will be down to greet them in a minute.”

Even after a month, many are unsure whether Merlin is legit or not, but he gives ultimate freedom in his kingdom, he knows every resident and he takes it upon himself to help every single one. You are allowed to use your magic for whatever you please as long as no one gets harmed. Merlin holds a class once a week to teach them that Uther and everyone else was wrong and that magic wasn’t evil. Merlin’s goal was to show them that magic is a gift, not a curse and he can help them.

“Hello, my name is Emrys and although I may be king, you can call me Emrys or Merlin if you wish. This is a place where you do not have to live in fear, and you are openly allowed to do as your magic and there are control classes as well as the history and future of magic classes, that anyone is welcome to attend. You are welcome to leave at any given time obviously, but I would prefer that I knew just in case anyone gets hurt. If I am not available to inform, just tell someone so at least someone knows where you are, your safety means the most.” Merlin does his normal welcoming speech. This camp has about thirty druids from all ages, there a few women carrying small babes, a pair of giggling children, an elderly couple. Wait those giggling children look familiar. “Mordred.” Merlin lets out a sigh of both relief and remorse. He assumes the young girl next to him is Kara. Over the years Merlin's opinions on Mordred varied, there was a time when he wanted more than to kill him a thousand times over, and others where he blamed himself for Mordred’s betrayal, as he did with Morgana. Merlin hoped that Mordred would find his way to Teyrnas Hud, so he could help him.

“Mordred! He really is Emrys, he knows your name!” Kara says excitedly.

“I _know _he is Emrys, Kara. I just think it weird that he is a King, he is meant to be helping the Once and Future King, not running his own Kingdom.” Mordred rolls his eyes at Kara. Merlin chuckles slightly even at such a young age Mordred is the same.

“Actually Mordred, I did look after the king for eleven long years, then he died, and continued to live and wait for him, for one thousand five hundred years, then I gave up, but not really. I mustered up all my power and I thought really hard and I was back in Albion, but no one has ever time travelled before, and the magic of the land was impressed but mad at me, so as punishment I am not allowed to see my King for another two years. The Fisher King reached out and gave his kingdom to me as a gift of hope for change in Albion.” Merlin explained to the younger and older druids.

“Is that how you knew my name, did we know each other in your old life? Were we friends?” Mordred looks sceptical but also excited.

Merlin nods and smiles, Mordred was never really his friend, especially after what happened with the seer druid, but Merlin wanted to give the boy some hope for his future. Merlin starts the tour of the kingdom before going back up his chambers.

Two days later Hunith and Will arrived on a horse, delighted with what Merlin has achieved. Hunith was impressed with all that has happened in the past month for Merlin, everyone in the kingdom loves him, he knows everyone’s name and he doesn’t keep secrets with them, he may sugarcoat a lot of things, but he does not lie to them. Merlin is a great king in Hunith’s completely unbiased opinion. Will, on the other hand, was completely shocked and could not fathom how his clumsy, idiot, the best mate was king of this magic utopia kingdom, Hunith said that Merlin changed from the last time he saw him (which was barely even a month and a half ago!!) and boy was she right. “Why is an idiot eighteen-year-old who can't properly control their magic running a kingdom based on it?!” Will had muttered to himself, apparently not quietly enough because one of Merlin’s loyal subjects let out a shocked gasp. “Our King has more control over his magic than everyone in this world! And he is not eighteen years of age, he is much older and much wiser than you believe mere mortal. You are lucky to even be able to welcome here!”

“That is completely fine Cerik, William here hasn’t been given a rundown on what’s going on, he still believes that I can't control my magic yet, I would’ve thought mother gave him a run-down but that isn’t her fault, would you like to come with me, Will?” Merlin intervened and held out a hand for Will to follow.

“Look Will, a lot has happened since last time I saw you, which I gather you can tell by now,”

“Merlin the last time I saw you was two months ago!”

“The last time I saw you, you were dying in my arms and telling the prince of Camelot that you were a sorcerer!”

That surely shut Will up.

“Will, I have seen every single person I love and care about die, I have seen generations come and go, I have seen war and tragedy, life and death, love and heartbreak, I have grown as a person then thrown it all away on a bad night, I saw how much humans are capable are of only for them to throw it all away and give in to their nature of hate, violence and war, my powers have grown so much since the last time I saw you, I can fucking travel through time for fucks sake! I cannot die and Will trust me when I say it is the cruellest punishment mankind brought on, I am not fucking around. I am barely holding on to what I got, and I need you to just shut up for once and hug me because this is the first proper conversation, I am having with my first ever friend in over one thousand, five hundred years.” Merlin let out a large breath and Will crashed into his arms, letting out whispers of apologies.

For the next two hours Merlin and Will talk about everything, Merlin missed him more than he thought. Merlin talks about the future and what he thought would’ve liked, Merlin told him about how big the world is and how he explored so much and knew even more. Will was amazed he never could’ve imagined that his idiot childhood best friend could know so much and experience anywhere outside of Albion.

Just as the two childhood friends bring their conversation to an end Grettir appears announcing an unknown sorcerer entering the outskirts of the kingdom and Merlin hopes that is Balinor and not some asshole he killed for the attempted murder of Arthur. He magics himself to where Grettir described (Merlin guessed you could call it apparating, but he didn’t want to be involved with Joanne because she is a transphobic piece of trash and Merlin don’t fuck with transphobes, even though he adores the Harry Potter series and the fact that he had so many head cannons of LGBT students at Hogwarts) and saw Balinor on a horse and cloak partially covering his face.

“Balinor.” Merlin feels relieved.

“I don’t know your boy.”

“Eighteen years ago, you were in a small village on the edge of Cenred’s kingdom, on the run for being a dragon lord after Uther manipulated you, you met a woman, you guys got on well, Uther ran you out of Ealdor, she got pregnant and she never told you because she was scared. I was born I moved to Camelot when I turned twenty learned how to control my magic, found out about my destiny and lived my life, then I failed and became immortal and roamed the earth for one thousand five hundred years being the most powerful sorcerer ever. I gave up and decided to time travel back to two years in the future so I can redo it but the old religion didn’t like it so I decided to make a kingdom for magic people and their families so they can live peacefully and know that magic is not evil. I want you to join me in ruling and guide the kingdom when I am absent because I won’t always be here.” Merlin found in the past few weeks that bluntness is the key to keeping people’s attention and usually helps them believe more. “My mum is here you know, she never stopped loving you, never paid attention to any other man in Ealdor.”

“Hunith had a baby and I didn’t even know,” Balinor says quietly getting off his horse.

“Well you do now, and you have no chance of dying in 48 hours like last time. Walk with me and I can explain more.”

Balinor was clearly very wary but Merlin has a certain charm about him that makes Balinor trust him, maybe it was how he could see both Hunith and himself in him. Balinor didn’t know how but somehow when they were walking, they made the usual half-day walk in ten minutes, as Merlin explained what his plans were for the kingdom and how he wanted Balinor to be present in court.

When they arrived Hunith was in the courtyard talking to some of the younger druids, handing them some flowers she picked form the royal courts private garden that Merlin made.

“Hunith,” Balinor says breathlessly, she looks up and almost drops her basket.

“Balinor?” she said, questionably looking over at her son for conformation, Merlin gave a small smile and nod before leaving them to themselves, to catch up after the long years spent apart.

Merlin made his way up to his chambers and told Grettir to let no one disturb him. Merlin was only a little reluctant to do this, but he knew it for the best, and not entirely selfish reasons. Location spells were hard, especially when you don’t have anything they own what you have is over a thousand years old. Then again Merlin can time travel now so I guess he can find one tiny human being. He concentrates really hard on Gwaine, how he talked, how he walked, his smell, what he looked like, how he acted. Then he activated the spell keeping complete focus.

His magic took him zooming out of the castle, through the surrounding forest and out of the borders of Elmet, pushing through the trees and into Mercia. Merlin’s magic keeps zooming all over the place until he finally finds a tavern just before the board between Essetir and Mercia. The magic flings itself back into Merlin’s body and Merlin quickly recovers.

“Attention all!” Merlin calls from his bedroom balcony, magically making every citizen hear him. “I have important business to attend to for the next few days or so, I will out of the borders of the kingdom, I have a lot of warding’s put in place to protect you all, I am confident enough to leave you in the hands of Balinor, he is my father and a very powerful dragon lord. If you need me for anything ask Grettir and he will get the message to me, but it has to an emergency.” Merlin paused for a second, thinking if there is anything else, he needed to add. “When I get back, we will begin magic control classes, and I will start setting up jobs and chores that everyone will have to participate. Can you believe that in just a few short weeks we will be able to all life and work in harmony and peace without the looming threat that someone is going to figure you out and execute you? Welcome to a new era, my friends.”

***

Back in Camelot, Uther is getting annoyed at how little executions are occurring.

“Sir Owain, what is the meaning of this? We haven’t had a public execution in a month!”

“Sire, it seems that you have achieved your goal, there have been no reports of anything of magical properties in the last month. It seems that they have all finally understood your laws and left Camelot.”

“Not possible! They aren’t smart enough to leave if anything they are building an army to fight against Camelot! Double training sessions for the knights so they are prepared to kill any sorcerer who dares try and attack Camelot.”

“Yes, sire.” Sir Owain bows and leaves the throne room, leaving Arthur alone with Morgana and Uther.

“Father is that really necessary? What if the sorcerers did just leave Camelot because they were sick of getting slaughtered?” Arthur comments.

“Don’t be ridiculous Arthur. How many times do I have to tell you anyone who possesses magic is pure evil and they would never leave unless they had an evil ulterior motive? I would except this nonsense from Morgana but not you.” Morgana scoffed and rolled her eyes but both Arthur and Uther ignored her.

“All I am saying maybe this is a good thing. If all magic users have left, we don’t have the need for all the death and destruction of people’s lives and homes, why be mad about something you have spent my whole life trying to abolish when you can just accept the fact that you won?” Arthur tried his best to keep his voice calm, his father saying that magic is the root of all evil over and over this past month has been pure torture, because Merlin, who _is _magic itself is the least evil person he has ever met, and he can never think otherwise of him.

“If you really think that Arthur then maybe I have brought you up wrong, magic corrupts! They are all evil and they all need to die. Every last one of them Arthur. Go to your chambers, I don’t want to deal with your insolence right now.” Uther refused to even look at his son. “Morgana you are dismissed as well, you both will be having dinner in your chambers by yourselves tonight.”

Arthur leaves the throne room with his head high, he is honestly surprised at how much he blindly followed this man in his mission of mass genocide his whole life.

“What was that?” Morgana hissed when they were down the hall out of earshot from Uther.

“What was what ‘Gana?”

“That! In there with Uther! Have you gone mad? Next, you’re going to tell me you plan to make magic legal again when you become king.” Arthur definitely was.

“What gives you that idea?”

“The way you talked about, almost as if you care that the king is murderous.”

“I do care! I have blindly followed him for years! So, what if I finally opened my eyes and saw that he is wrong? One of the first things I saw once waking up and leaving my room was an execution of a poor farm man who enhanced his crops to grow just a tad healthier so he and his family could survive! I am sick of blindly following a man who kills his people on unfair and unjust terms. I understand that some magic users are bad but, not all of them, some just want to live their life and have a family and live in our beautiful kingdom. I don’t want him to taint our name with bloodstained innocents.” Arthur had stopped walking and was almost yelling, he sounded sad.

Morgana looked him in shock, not sure what to say. This really can't be the arrogant prick she grew up with.

“Look, I am really tired, I am just going to go up to my chambers and retire until tomorrow.” Arthur sighed in defeat and quickened his pace up to his chambers.

He informs his servant to leave him for the rest of the day and not to bother bringing him dinner.

“Oh, Merlin how am I meant to live without you?” Arthur sighs as he lies on his oversized bed. He looked at his ceiling and started to remember Merlin and all he did for Arthur without him knowing, there are a few things that he does know. His knowledge of what Merlin has done for him is limited and that annoys Arthur, he knows basic things that maybe couldn’t be explained at the moment but with the extra knowledge of his manservant being magical makes it make sense. Arthur misses him more as the second's tick by faster, it hurts to not be able to see Merlin, to hear him laugh at his own stupid jokes, to know if he is safe or if he is hurt. Arthur doesn’t know and he hates not knowing. Merlin was his confidant, the person Arthur could talk to and not worry about his status, now he doesn’t have anyone really, no one understands what he is going through and if he told anyone there would be a bounty of Merlin’s head and even if he can't die, Arthur won’t be able to deal with that.

Arthur comes up with the most pathetic, lovesick girlish idea. He will write to Merlin and not send them or tell anyone, but he can pretend he is talking to Merlin, it’s not the same but it is better than nothing.

_Merlin,_

_This is utterly idiotic I know, but I am lonely and the prince of Camelot so I can do whatever I want. Except see you. I really miss you; it’s only been a month and a half since I woke up in the body of eighteen-year-old me, scared and confused as to why you weren’t there, but Morgana was. Morgana, god I never realised how much I missed her, the young, fiery, passionate, beautiful her. Before all the hatred Uther caused. Uther is another thing, I hate him – well what he stands for. There hasn’t been any magical activity in over a month (which I am almost hundred per cent certain is your doing) and he is convinced that all of the magic community is planning an attack on him. I have no idea how I spent so long following the bigotry behaviour that helped him slaughter millions of innocents. He may be birth father and king, but he is no longer someone I will blinding follow, privately of course because I don’t think you would be very happy with me being tried with treason. I don’t know if it was you who made me bias because I love you and all or if coming back to now knowing what I know made me realise how bad it was. 22 more months of pretending, 22 more months until you can come back to me. _

_Love your dollop-head._

***

Meanwhile, Merlin walked into a bar on the outskirts of Essetir looking for someone.

“Whoa there,” Merlin says as a body gets slammed back onto to him almost as soon as he enters the tavern.

“Sorry mister, but this man is no longer welcome in my bar!”

“Come now Jarvis,” the man says in a voice that could cure cancer, _Gwaine_, (he couldn’t literally cure cancer, of course, Merlin is just glad that Gwaine is still here) “that is what you say every time, and yet I am always welcome back.”

“Not this time Gwaine, banned for the life I say, you came in here and drank half my bar knowing full well you have no money!”

“How large is his bill?” Merlin can hear his voice say.

“One hundred gold coins.” The pub owner, Jarvis, says sending a glare Gwaine’s way, who is now standing back up and grinning his signature grin.

“I will cover it for him,” Merlin said holding out a small bag filled with money, it is a bag that he enchanted to be never-ending riches with currency from every country he could think of.

Gwaine tries to protest but Jarvis has already started to take the money from Merlin's pouch and leave Gwaine alone.

“Thanks, man, you didn’t have to do that,” Gwaine says holding out his hand. “The name’s Gwaine.”

Merlin takes his hand smiling and whispers the spell he _thinks _will help Gwaine remember everything from things that haven’t happened yet. Well, things that haven’t happened in this timeline.

He blinks and for a split second is frozen. “Merlin! Buddy, how are you? Wow, what the fuck just happened; wait I am so confused. What the fuck?!” he is smiling, but his face shows clear signs of confusion.

“Gwaine, I know you are very fucking confused right now but just let me explain.” And so he does, Merlin tells Gwaine everything, from start to finish, spills secrets from the forgotten years of history, tells him the adventures he went on over the years, the people he met, how he accidentally blabbered about Camelot when he was drunk and they made it into a shitty tv show, how he loved and he lost and he lied and learnt. Gwaine asked questions and made comments and laughed at jokes he didn’t fully understand, it was great to have his best mate back, even if technically they haven’t met yet.

“Mate that’s a lot to take in wow,” Gwaine said as Merlin finished, by this time night has long since fallen.

“Well, 1500 years is a long time.” Gwaine laughed in response and chugged the last of his ale.

“So why come to me? And why this year? According to the princess, you came to Camelot when he was twenty, that isn’t for another two years.”

“Yeah well, that wasn’t exactly planned. The land magic is pissed at me for time travelling so they have banned me from going to Camelot and seeing Arthur for another two years. Now I run a kingdom of magic, and it’s a safe space for everyone to live in peace and harmony. As to why I came to you, first off your one of my best mates and I missed you, secondly, I want you as a knight for my kingdom and finally, I want to ask something of you, of course, you can say no, and you can also say no to becoming a knight of Teyrnas Hud.”

Gwaine cackles, like full-on body cackles. “Yeah mate as if I could ever say no to you. Ask away oh powerful one.”

And _Gods _did Merlin miss having Gwaine around. “I can't go to Camelot obviously, but I need to keep an eye on Morgana, I need her to be good this time around. It’s my fault that she wasn’t before, and I want to change that. So Gwaine what I am asking is, that once Morgana starts to have her more intense visions, Gaius will write to me and I would like you to go undercover as a knight of Camelot and watch over her and when the time comes, escort her to me for training and education.”

“I never got to know good Morgana, so yeah sure this could be fun. Can't help but wonder that you are abusing the fact that I technically am a nobleman.”

“Ah shoot, you got me.” They laugh and it's nice, Merlin hasn’t felt this lite in years and boy does it feel good.

“So, this kingdom of yours where is it?”

“Where the Perilous Lands used to lay, the Fisher King asked me to take his crown and kingdom. But there is warding all over it so unless you are magical or have express clearance from a magical citizen you can't see it, enter it or attack it. That is also if you are on my list of the big no no people.”

“Like Morgause?” Gwaine asked.

“Morgause, Nimeuh, the Disir Court and a handful of people who I can’t forgive, or fix are mostly on the list, yeah.” Merlin gave him a sad smile and they moved on with their conversation.

Well into the night Jarvis approached the two men and told them that the tavern had closed and if they wanted somewhere to sleep they needed to pay upfront and be quick about it, Merlin rolled his eyes and paid the bitter bar owner and helped Gwaine up to their shared room.

“Can I see your kingdom Merls?” Said a clearly drunk Gwaine.

“Tomorrow mate, tomorrow.” and the two men slept peacefully as two men could with the amount of combined trauma.

Merlin ops to travel by foot back to the castle, not wanting to freak Gwaine out completely. It was a familiar feeling he never knew he needed, having Gwaine on his side as he travels through forest, mindless chatter as they go. The world is so different, there are so much more life and less pollution, the trees bring so much life and the world is healthy. It is so refreshing for Merlin to see and he could get lost in the feeling of not being choked by the heaviness in the air.

“Gwaine, did you know I had magic? Like before in my timeline?”

“You weren’t very subtle mate. The other knights thought it was common knowledge and Arthur just didn’t want to talk about it until he legalised magic. Lancelot was a bit touchy on the subject, so I kinda guessed that it wasn’t common knowledge and you only told him, but we didn’t care really. You saved our arses more than I count and we knew you were harmless anyway.” Merlin gave his old friend a half-smile and let him continue his mindless chatter and bad jokes as they made their way back to the kingdom.

***

In Camelot, Morgana is storming into the princes’ rooms, clearly annoyed.

“Arthur.” The king's ward says in a warning tone.

The prince doesn’t really respond with anything coherent.

“By the gods, Arthur get the fuck up and stop moping about. It has been nonstop three months of this, and it is fucking annoying. Especially with you speaking out at Uther like that. I decided we are going for riding to the clearing we used to frequent when we were younger and we can spar and then you can let your big man walls down and tell me what the fuck is wrong because Gwen has gone on a week leave and I don’t have anyone else I necessarily like in this castle beside you and her.”

“You can't speak to me like that Morgana.”

“I can do whatever I want, now get up and get dressed we leave in an hour.” and with that Morgana leaves Arthur’s chambers to go prepare herself for their excursion.

Arthur grudgingly gets out of bed and does what his sister tells him to do. He really missed this, no matter how much he tries to hate this Morgana, he can't. This Morgana hasn’t hurt anyone, she is pure, and Arthur doesn’t even think she has developed her magic yet. He wants to help her this time around, he wants her to be as good as he knows she can be. Arthur slowly gets ready to go out without Morgana, dismissing his manservant who he only knows as not-Merlin, and goes out to meet Morgana in the courtyard, she doesn’t say anything to him as she sits waiting on her horse and just rides off ahead of Arthur.

It only takes the Pendragon siblings one and a half hours of riding to get to their desired destination; a meadow just off a pathway that they discovered together one day years ago. They used to come to train, Arthur noticed how longingly Morgana looked when he trained or while she watched the tournaments, so he took her to the clearing, and they started to train together. Arthur doesn’t regret it of course, but he sure did back then when after only one summer passing was Morgana able to dominate him and after that Arthur barely got any wins, but it was a good outlet.

“You ready to fight Milady?” Arthur says after they finish unloading and tying down the horses Morgana set up.

“Are you ready to lose against a girl again Arthur?” Morgana smirks, swinging her sword around effortlessly, show off.

The siblings start to fight, blunt swords swinging at their opponent. _This is a really bad idea, _Arthur thought to himself, _what if I forget that this isn’t the Morgana that killed so many? What if I hurt her and it like triggers something in her and she goes berserk? _With Arthur so caught up in his own thoughts he barely notices Morgana taking the winning blow and knocking the Prince off his feet.

“Hey, wait that’s not fair, I wasn’t concentrating!” Arthur protested from the ground.

“And that’s my fault?” _Yes. _“Arthur, surely by now you know that enemy does not give a fuck if you’re concentrating or not, they will kill you without a second thought if you don’t fight back.” Morgana laughs as she helps pulls him back to his feet. “So, do you want to go again? Or are ready to talk like a big boy?”

Arthur lets out a sigh in defeat. “If really want to know? Fine, let’s talk.”

A smile spreads across Morgana’s face and she nods eagerly, plopping down on the soft grass in the clearing, patting the space in front of her for Arthur to sit. Arthur lets out a groan but complies.

“You know how roughly a week before I collapsed three months ago?” Morgana nods and Arthur is immediately relieved that did in fact happen and Morgana won’t know any different. “Well I came across someone while I was away, and I was instantaneously taken by them. I separated from the guards so we could have some time together. We got along so well, he didn’t know that I was a prince and it felt so good just to have someone who liked me for me and not my title. He, umm, had magic, and I was terrified at first because I thought it was a secret plot to kill me, and everything our friendship was built on lies, but it wasn’t like that. He saved my life multiple times in the short time we were with each other, every time used magic to save me. He told me only uses it for good and has never killed anyone and doesn’t plan to, he was born with it and it was out of his control. He said that he hated it so much but he has to use it or he will get really sick, it prevented him from having a happy life and never felt as though he trust anyone to tell them, so he was always lying and it made him feel so dirty, but he had to. And all of a sudden I got it Gana, magic isn’t evil, never was and never will be. Yes, magic has killed thousands of innocent people, but so have the sword. Magic is a weapon and as long as it is wielded by someone with good intentions, how could it be evil? Knights aren’t, so why should sorcerers and warlocks be? And the majority of sorcerers attack because their kin was murdered, but when we go to full-on war when a member of the court is killed, we get praised? The whole system is corrupt, and I am going to change it. When I am king no will be trailed for magic, if they break the law then that is what they will be trailed against. he helped me see that; he helped me be educated from an outside perspective that isn’t our corrupted father. The problem is that he can't come to Camelot or he will get executed no matter what I do, and I fell for him Gana, I really fell for him.” Arthur lets out a breath, finishing his story. Okay so maybe it’s not entirely truthful, but what could he do? Tell Morgana the truth? un-bloody-likely! Besides, it’s not a total lie, Merlin didn’t know he was a prince when they first met, he did save Arthur countless times using magic, Arthur was completely taken by him the second they met, Merlin had changed Arthur’s views on magic and Merlin can't come to Camelot because of the stupid old religion or whatever Hunith said.

“Wow, that’s a lot to take in,” Morgana said after a way too long pause.

“Please don’t tell Uther! I didn’t even think of him fuck. Please Morgana-,” Before he could continue his begging Morgana cut off Arthur.

“I won’t tell! What do you take me for? I’m just surprised that’s all. I am kind of relieved as well, I would be glad to live under your rule Arthur, you are going to be a good king.” Morgana jumped up and hugged him, it was a familiarity that he had forgotten, now more than ever Arthur wished Merlin had a plan to keep Morgana good.

“Wait, did you say our father?” shit shit shit shit fuck.

“Metaphorically, you know like you are his ward, essentially you are his daughter, just minus the perks of being the princess.” hopefully that works, and Morgana doesn’t push it.

“Is that you sister-zoning me? Here Uther still thinks we are going get to marry one day.” God Arthur hoped Uther never actually thought that he and Morgana were going to get married, he knew his father stooped low, but he hopes not that low.

“Morgana, did I not just say that I would go against everything that I have been brought up on over one guy? Like no offence but I have never thought of you in any way except my sister. I love you to death Gana, just not like that.”

“I know Arthur, I was only joking and to be completely honest, I have my eye on someone.” Morgana smiled longingly, they were never like this before and Arthur kinda wishes they were.

“Pray tell, who has caught the esteemed Lady Morgana’s eye?” Arthur asks teasingly.

“That is for the esteemed Lady Morgana to know and the buffoon Prince Arthur to never find out,” Morgana responds in the same teasing tone, jumping up off the ground and began to pack up their equipment back onto the horses, Arthur follows in her direction.

“But the buffoon Prince Arthur told the esteemed Lady Morgana who caught his eye, the esteemed Lady Morgana not sharing her crush is not fair,” Arthur whined because he was a prince, and he was entitled to whine if he so, please.

“Ha I got you to call yourself a buffoon, I win.” Morgana laughs, it's light and nothing like evil Morgana's cackle of a laugh.

The rest of the day goes by in a blur. Arthur and Morgana arrive back in Camelot, to a slightly pissed off Uther and are sent to their chambers for the rest of the day, their food would be sent their quarters. Arthur decides to write Merlin another letter, he feels like talking to Morgana was really good for him and something Merlin would be happy to hear.

_To my Merlin, _

_I told Morgana about you today, to some extent at least. I told her that we met when I was away from Camelot and you taught me that magic isn’t evil and a whole bunch of shit that is mostly true just in the wrong context. I really miss you. It was good to have Morgana back, we sparred in a field before I told her about you, I accidentally called Uther our father, but I saved it by saying I _thought _of her as my sister, like metaphorically. I am not entirely sure if talking about you made me happier or more unhappy because it made me think about you in all your idiot -ness. I hope you have figured out how to keep Morgana good, I don’t know if I will survive her betrayal for a second time. Of course, you have no idea what I write, or that I write at all, but knowing you as well as I do, well did who knows what has happened in the 1500 years you were alone, I know that that Merlin would do anything he could to prevent Morgana’s descent into madness, maybe you already did try last time. You always seemed to know more than you let on, which is partially my fault, the number of times I brushed you aside, I feel so terrible for not trusting you every single time. I miss having you here, and I will never be able to apologise enough for making you wait so long for me. _

_With all my love, Arthur._

***

Gwaine has been in Teyrnas Hud for two months and he absolutely adored it. The environment was so different from any other place he had travelled, everyone worked together in harmony and peace. Merlin was constantly busy but Gwaine knew that he had to be to keep the peace. Merlin spent his days teaching, telling stories and making sure everyone was happy, it was a tiring job, but he seemed happy enough. Gwaine and Merlin’s childhood friend, Will, had been spending a lot of their time together and Gwaine found the young farm boy a good match for Merlin. The two of them spent most of their days helping out on the farms, or training to fight, an activity Merlin wasn’t keen on them doing or doing what Gwaine does best and drinking.

“What was Merlin like in Camelot?” Will asks one night after the two men got bored of another endless lecture Merlin did on the good of magic and decided to snag some ale. “Cause apparently I died about a year after he left, which is stupid.”

“Merlin mentioned you a couple of times, Arthur didn’t like it when he did though, so it was usually when we were alone.”

“M said I told Arthur I was a sorcerer to covered for him.”

“How noble of you, I personally just think the princess was jealous. Merlin in Camelot was very different from Merlin here that’s for sure. He was lighter, and witty and happy. I think everyone was halfway in love with him, I certainly was. At the beginning at least.”

“M usually had that effect on people,” Will said, almost longingly.

“He has only really had eyes for Arthur, yeah sure he might have been with a couple of others, but even a blind man can see that Arthur was it for Merlin. Well everyone except Arthur of course. Merlin had a lot more friends than I think he realised, I had a couple of commoners ask me if he was a knight before, I don’t know why he was a clumsy oaf and never wore any knight guard, but he was always there so I suppose one could have assumed that he was a knight. He never left Arthur side, unless he was doing illegal magic things.” Gwaine started to miss this life, a life he never technically lived, he missed the other knights and how alive they made him feel. Don’t get Gwaine wrong, he loved it here, it was full of life and love and freedom, but it wasn’t post-Uther Camelot.

“Did you know about his magic?” Will asks. “He never told me, when we were kids I caught him doing it, he was terrified I was going to report him or something. As if a seven-year-old knew that Cenred used the magic uses as slaves.”

“All the knights knew we didn’t think it was a secret and Arthur just didn’t like talking about it because it was illegal. As it appears, Arthur was just as oblivious to Merlin’s magic as he was to his feelings.” Will let out a huff of laughter and Gwaine reached over the table to cheers him.

Merlin’s childhood best friend and his Camelot best friend continue to converse well into the night, sharing stories and their mutual love for the sorcerer. Merlin was on the other side of his kingdom greeting the newest arrivals, a family who has a daughter who seems to already able to do magic, they were scared what would happen to her if they stayed home.

“When do we have to leave?” the youngest asks Merlin once he explained the basic rules.

“You don’t have to go anywhere if you want to.”

“But we don’t have any magic.”

“Teyrnas Hud is a place for everyone who wants to be safe and live freely. It matters not whether you can or can't do magic, as long as you don’t go tell Uther or harm any residents. You can leave whenever you want, just as long as you tell someone where you are going and when you will be back. I will do my absolute best to keep everyone here safe from harm.” Merlin responds with a kind smile and watched as the whole family instantly lights up and he knows what he is doing is the right thing.

***

It’s been five months since the Fisher King gave over the crown to Merlin, and in those five months, Merlin has successfully been able to safe place for over a hundred thousand people and creatures, he is thriving, well he should be at least. Merlin can’t help but feel empty, he is in Albion again, he is with his parents, with Gwaine and Will, he is helping people learn about the true beauty of magic, but he can't help but still feel like an empty pit of nothingness. He misses Arthur, even after one thousand five hundred years Merlin still can't help but pine for him, he never got used to not being without him. Merlin fills his days making sure everyone is comfortable and safe, making sure he has as little time to himself and his thoughts as possible. He is glad that his parents are busy being lovey-dovey and Gwaine and Will are too busy being idiots to notice that he is overworking himself, well technically Merlin can't really be overworked and can go a week without sleep and only then he would only sleep to reserve his energy and recharge his magic. At this point it’s been four days without sleep and Merlin has barely noticed, that is until his mother approaches him, alone for once.

“Merlin my boy, how long has it been since you last slept?” she asks, Merlin takes a moment to look at his mother, she definitely looks happier, younger even, she has a bag with her as if she was going on a trip.

“Where are you going?” Merlin asks, disregarding his mother’s concern for his sleep schedule.

Hunith faulters and presses her lips as if she were hesitant to tell her son where she is going, which she is, because she is going to Camelot to visit Arthur and Merlin doesn’t know Arthur knows and is quite obviously unstable right now. “Camelot,” she says slowly, cautious of what could happen, running scenarios through her head. When Merlin doesn’t break or scream, she continues “Gaius asked me to try and come as often as possible, to keep him updated on you and all of this and company to I suppose. I haven’t had the chance to since I was catching up with your father and all.” Hunith tries to muster a smile, she doesn’t know the extent of her son's power and if he tell if she is lying or not, she really hopes he believes her, because she doesn’t know what will happen if Merlin finds out that Arthur remembers, she already told Gwaine after Merlin announced his plans to send him to Camelot.

“Oh. Well give Gaius my best and stay safe on your way to Camelot. I think it’s good that you are going to see him in person, you hardly ever did before.” Merlin _looked _sincere when he said it so Hunith just hoped he was and pulled the warlock into a tight hug.

“I will love you no matter what, remember that forever my boy,” she whispers in his ear before separating from the hug and walking away towards the stables.

Merlin was reeling, why on earth was his mother going to Camelot? Gaius had always been content having letters as the only contact between him and Hunith, what has changed since then. Was Gaius that intrigued by Merlin travelling through time? That’s probably it, but something at the back of Merlin’s head won’t shut the fuck up, yelling at him that was more to the story. Merlin chose to ignore it like most probably important red flags that pop up in his ever-chaotic life.

***

_Merlin, _

_Your mother came to visit for the first time since I was brought back to now. It was nice to talk to her about you so openly and her actually understanding it, unlike Gaius who doesn’t know you personally yet. She is worried about you, so stop doing whatever you are doing to worry her because as Prince of Camelot I won’t allow for Hunith to be overly worried for her idiot sons wellbeing. In all seriousness, I understand why she would be worried for you and I would be lying if I said that for last five months I haven’t spent every waking hour worrying over you, this whole destiny thing is so fucked and you pulled the shortest stick and ended up the butt of the joke. And it is so unfair. If anything, you deserve to have a peaceful life without anything bothering you, and I really hope that whatever you are doing right now is that. Being eleven years in the past is hard enough for me, I cannot begin to imagine what the world could have come to in fifteen hundred years and having to readjust to now. I honestly wouldn’t blame you if you went insane at one point during those years alone. I think after we unite Albion together, that we should retire off in the countryside and leave Morgana to be queen, only if we can show her the support she so desperately needed last time around, but I think by telling her about you (kinda) she will know I don’t believe my father dreadful political beliefs. Anyway, back to your mum; she stayed a fortnight, which you probably already know, she stayed with Gaius and mainly helped him with his physician work, but every afternoon after practice she would come up and we would have tea together and talk about you and a bunch of other stuff. I really like your mother; she is such a kind soul and a really wonderful listener. Oh, and by the way, I am so mad at you for not telling me that that Dragonlord was your dad! I feel like such a jerk for not telling you to waste your tears on him! I understand why you didn’t tell me but still! I hope that you start looking after yourself more so the people who care about you can be at ease. _

_Yours truly, Arthur. _

***

“Dad!” Merlin says as he enters the council room (it is just a random room in the castle where he, Balinor, his mother, Gwaine, Will, Grettir and a representative member of each magic group or species discuss basic needs and wants of the kingdom), over the last four months, Merlin has reconnected with Balinor properly and felt comfortable addressing him as his dad.

“Yes?”

“I was going through some of my things and I found something I completely forgot I brought back in time with me! (more like the author completely forgot there was supposed to be dragons in this fic because it’s taken her a fucking year to update it) I have three dragon eggs that I found from all around the world, I should really tell you more about how big the world actually is. Anyway, I was thinking that we could through our first festival and at the end of the night name the dragons and hatch them.” Merlin watches as the biggest smile he has ever seen comes across his father’s face as he runs across the room and pulls Merlin into a hug, thanking him over and over again.

“I never thought I would be able to see a dragon again, much less bring one to life.” Balinor looked so sincere and there was a single tear sliding down his face, Merlin was glad that today was a good day and he was glad that he could see the hermit who lived in a cave until a few months ago come into the man in front of him, that Merlin was proud to call his father. “Thank you so much for doing this son.”

A week later the courtyard, which is magically big enough to hold the whole kingdom comfortably, has been decorated and there are little shops everywhere and entertainers doing their thing, there is music playing and dancing all around. Everyone is cheerful and finally happy to be able to do magic freely and proudly.

“This is one good looking festival Merls,” Gwaine says with a cup that has been magically topped up whenever it gets empty in his hand and his signature grin on his face. “And I have been to quite a few festivals in my days.”

“Don’t I know it. But I am really happy with how this turned out and I’m psyched to hatch the dragon eggs, I have been waiting hundreds of years to have the perfect time to hatch them.” Merlin says with his own smile on his face again, it’s a nice feeling.

“Any ideas for names yet?” Gwaine asks.

“Oh, I have all the names planned out, there just was never a safe time to hatch the eggs. But it’s not as such as you chose the name, it’s almost as if the egg is screaming out at you their name and you just have to envision it coming out of the egg and responding to that name.”

“I always wanted to see a dragon in real life, think they’re bloody brilliant creatures. That whole naming thing is so interesting. Man, I am so lucky to have you as my best mate, Dragonlord _and _most powerful warlock of all time.”

“Yeah, you are Gwaine.” Merlin laughs, showing that cheek he used to have so often in Camelot, it surprises him how easily it comes back to him in moments like these. Merlin actually thinks that he is the lucky one, having someone like Gwaine on his side no matter what, that is so essential to life and something Merlin missed so dearly when he was alone. The rest of the night carries on in the festivities with minimum conflict (Merlin only had to break apart two drunken fights all night, and he definitely calls that a win).

A couple of minutes until midnight is when Merlin and Balinor go up to the balcony overlooking the courtyard, three dragon eggs along with them. “Can I have your attention please?” Merlin projects his voice to the crowd, slowly the music stops, the entertainer's press pause on their performance, the chatter of the many people ends, and all eyes are on Merlin and his father. “Thank you, tonight we gather as a kingdom of peace in celebration for the first time,” there is a mass of cheers and applause. “But tonight, we are also here to bring new life to our family. These are three of the four remaining dragon eggs left on the Earth (let’s pretend that everyone in the sixth century knew what the earth was and ignore the fact it doesn’t get named for another five thousand years) and tonight myself and my father, as the last living dragonlords will bring them into the world and help save the dragon race.” the crowd cheers again, shouting praise for Emrys. Merlin materialises a floating island and steps for him and his father to take.

Once the father and son reach the island and place the eggs in a way so there is enough space for all of them, Merlin prepares to call out the name of the first dragon, the egg is significantly smaller than the others and is an off white colour, Merlin feels a familiarity with this egg and Aithusa, something the other two don’t have. He found the egg on top of the tallest mountain in Israel, Mount Hermon. Merlin feels the dragon reach out and call for him. “_NURI,_” Merlin calls out in dragon tongue, the egg cracks and what emerges is simply divine. A tiny pure white dragon waddles out of its shell and immediately flaps its wings and lets out a happy chirp. She is ethereal. Merlin is instantaneously drawn to the small creature and bends down to pick Nuri up in the palm of his hand, that’s how small she is. Nuri takes an immediate liking to the warlock, crawling up his arm and perching herself on his shoulder, nudging into his neck. Merlin is having the time of his life and the crowd below is watching intently as their king plays with the small mythical creature, the biggest smile they have ever seen on his face.

Next, it was Balinor’s turn, Merlin never got to hear anyway one else speak the tongue of dragons so hearing his father’s low voice drop an octave or ten lower as he grumbles out the one word, “_KULLIAN._” was as thrilling for him as it formed the audience down below. The egg he is calling to is a dark blood red colour and was the most recent egg Merlin found and was in the inside of an extinct volcano in Scotland. The second dragon emerges from the dark egg, Kullian is certainly bigger than Nuri and is obviously more male presenting, he has a pitch-black body with a vibrant red underbelly and already looks prideful. Balinor crouches down to the baby dragon and he has the audacity to literally strut towards him. Balinor lets out a low laugh and presents his hand for the dragon to come to, Kullian comes forward and bows his head under Balinor’s hand.

Merlin looks down at the crowd, they all look so entranced by the sight above them and Merlin can't blame them watching a dragon be hatched is so indescribably beautiful and a whole other experience. Merlin goes over to the final egg, a scaly blue-green egg that Merlin found at the bottom of an ocean off the coast of Greece. Merlin hears the dragon call out to him and he says the name presented to him “_HYDRA_.” the last dragon hatches slowly and the most careful of the trio, when Hydra finally emerges she is a breathtaking mix of green and blue and looks like the deep blue of the ocean mixed with a forest green that gives the dragon a loch ness monster feel.

For the rest of the night, the people of Teyrnas Hud celebrated the birth of the new dragons, well past sunrise there were still people partying. Merlin decided that the island he created that floated above town square would be where the dragons will stay during the time in which he is training them. Nuri doesn’t leave his side all night and Merlin isn’t usually one to have favourited but there is something about Nuri that made Merlin instantly know they were going to be best friends. Overall, the night was a major success, and everyone had a lot of fun, Merlin was still receiving compliments of the festivities a month later.

Over the next two months, everything was going smoothly, Merlin had halved his lessons so the people can start to get some sense of normalcy and so he can train the mischief children that is the trio of baby dragons. Nuri had barely left his side since she was hatched, Merlin thinks it’s because she was the first egg he found after Aithusa, so her egg has been with him the longest. It is a sunny afternoon and Merlin, Gwaine and Will are chilling on the dragon island, playing with the babies when Grettir appears and hands Merlin a letter before zapping away again.

“What’s that mate?”

“A letter from Gaius looks as if it is time for you to go home Gwaine.”

***

_MERLIN TELL ME WHY I JUST SAW GWAINE COME THROUGH THE GATES OF CAMELOT!! shit a meeting is being called with the council, I will be right back. MERLIN WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO? WHY IS GWAINE APPLYING TO BE A KNIGHT?? I do hope you forged his papers better than you did Lancelot’s. His papers aren’t forged??? Oh my god, he was a knight all along, HA father banished a nobleman. So, I talked to Gwaine, he says he has been living with you for a while and you sent him to watch over Morgana, I can't thank you enough for that, but Gwaine? seriously? why couldn’t you send Percival or Lancelot? Anyway, I will write to you later I and a knight of the round table have a lot of catching up to do._

_love, a very confused Arthur x_

***

“Gwaine!” Arthur calls as he comes out to the field where Gwaine had already started to train for his position as a knight. “Come take a walk with me.”

“Sure, thing princess,” Gwaine said with his usual cheek.

“Why are you here? You don’t come to Camelot for another like five years! I just know this was Merlin, so do you remember? Or did he meet you and you fell for him because he is Merlin and now you’re doing whatever he asks with no knowledge you were best friends? Fuck! I should not have said! Oh God, I sound like a crazy person! Gwaine! say something please!”

“But watching you freak out so much funnier! To be honest, when Hunith said you remember, this is not what I was expecting. Don’t worry princess, I remember everything too, except my regaining of memories was on purpose, yours seemingly were not. Merlin sent me to look over Morgana until he thinks it would be a good time to start teaching her. He wants to do everything in his power to keep her from going bad. Which would be preferable, seeing as I don’t really want to be killed by her again.”

“Wait, Morgana killed you? When! I swear I vividly remember Merlin killing her before I died, wait does this mean I died after you?”

“She killed me to find out where you were, at least I can sleep knowing I only sent her to her death. That’s irrelevant now though, all that shit is behind us and Merlin is thriving in Teyrnas Hud, doing what he should’ve been doing from the start.”

“Can you maybe tell me about him? Hunith only tells me the bare minimum because she thinks I am going to off and try to find him as if I don’t know that there would be consequences.”

“Merlin will have you tried with treason for bad-mouthing Hunith.”

“Merlin can’t try me with shit, I am the prince of Camelot.”

“Yeah, and he is a king, who holds basically all the power in the world and is immortal.”

“Fine, Merlin can’t try me with shit, he loves me too much. He waited fifteen hundred years for me so I highly doubt he would kill me for saying one bad thing about his mother that I adore. Now tell me about him because I miss him more than I am willing to admit and I have authority over you still don’t forget Gwaine.”

“He has gotten a lot better since Nuri hatched, I think taking care of her and the others made him realise he also needs to take care of himself, which is something he hasn’t done for an absurd amount of time. Oh right, you have no idea who Nuri is. Nuri, Hydra and Kullian are Merlin’s dragons and Nuri has barely left Merlin side for the last two months and honestly, since he came and got me seven months ago I haven’t seen him happier. He wouldn’t sleep and he would always be doing something, never resting for even a second, he would be saying it was because he was trying run a kingdom but the whole kingdom has been in love with Merlin since day one, obviously, and do whatever he says. He teaches everyone magic and what it means to have magic, he teaches them how to use it for good and how to not let their emotions get the better of them. He is bloody brilliant, I think having his dad around helps him a bit, seeing his mum fully happy again. He told me a lot about his time waiting and it sounds like it was really hard for him, but the thought of getting back to you kept him going.”

Arthur was conflicted; maybe Hunith was right, and maybe Arthur wanted nothing more to go seek out Merlin, to just give him a fucking hug, something he was so adamant against giving him before because he was so scared that if he did hug him, he would never let go. Arthur knew he couldn’t see Merlin until the universe initially intended, he _knew _that, but it doesn’t stop the prince from pining. Merlin had been through so much because of Arthur and Arthur hates that and just wants him to be happy again, even though Arthur knows it doesn’t work like that, it is all he wants.

“Merlin is a king then?”

“Yeah, the place is great, it is a place for all magic folk to live freely and without fear, the Fisher King; that guy whose staff you got from that quest thing that Merlin and I crashed, gave Merlin his kingdom to restore and rule while he is waiting for the two years to past, and hopefully afterwards, but Merlin said he doesn’t like thinking that far ahead. Me and Will, Merlin’s childhood best friend, think you know him, anyways we have to spend a fair bit of time together and he’s fucking great mate. We have been pranking the more stuck up residents together, which Merlin says he hates because he doesn’t want to scare them off, but we both know that Merlin is enjoying this deep down. He may seem different on the outside, but once in a while he forgets about everything and he's back to good old Merlin again.” Gwaine has had a sort of sad smile the whole time he is talking about Merlin and Arthur isn’t really sure what it means, he doesn’t know how much Merlin has changed and it is one of the few things left that scares him.

“Thank you, it means a lot that you will actually tell me about him. Now, let us go make you a knight so you can do what you came for.” Arthur turns around and starts walking back to the training fields so he and Gwaine can spar and he can become a knight for Merlin.

***

_Merlin, _

_It has officially been a year since I woke up in eighteen-year-old me’s body and was completely lost without you. As I am sure you are aware Gwaine has been doing excellently in persuading Uther to let him be Morgana’s personal bodyguard, and surprisingly Morgana doesn’t seem to care that much. Only 52 more weeks until I can see you again and I am so scared, it still doesn’t make sense, but I am trying. Each day goes by and I miss you more and it is exhausting. Having Gwaine helps, he is good at grounding; just don’t tell him that. Father is getting super paranoid about there being zero sorcerers in a year now and I told Gwaine to pass you the message to find a way to get there to be executed without anyone actually dying. I don’t know, but hopefully, you pull through. My love for your dorky ass increases by each passing second, _

_Arthur x._

***

It has been a year since Merlin arrived back in time to Camelot and so much has changed since then, he has a kingdom that he runs, people that serve him, that worship him, he is teaching magic to as many people as he can and it's amazing. He still misses Arthur an unfathomable amount, but he knows he is safe and happy and Gwaine keeps him updated. Merlin thinks that it is time to start to introduce Morgana to magic, and hopefully not die in the process. Merlin is far from happy but he is content with what he has accomplished in the past year and that’s good enough for now. Now he waits for yet another long year before he can see Arthur again and start it all over, or so he thinks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading the log awaited chapter two, i promise it won't take as long for the next chapters, stay safe and be responsible xx :)

**Author's Note:**

> thanks all for reading! i will update at least once every two weeks, kudos and comments are appreciated <3 lov u all


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